The present invention relates to a film processor and, more particularly, to a processor for sheets of x-ray films wherein water spots previously visible on processed sheets are substantially eliminated.
Known processors for photographic film sheets transport the film sequentially through a series of stations where latent images on the film are developed by a developing solution, then the developed image is fixed by a fixing solution, the sheet is washed to remove residual solutions on the film and subsequently dried. It is known to use rollers to remove at least a portion of the various solutions between stations in a processor. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,810 a guide roller removes at least some of the developer from film as it travels between two developing areas in a processor. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,727 discloses a roller which is biased against the film as it is moved between two wash sections in a film processor. This roller removes a layer of washing agent present in one wash solution before the film enters a second wash solution. The processing apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,067 has a rotating brush which contacts a surface of the film after it is sprayed with a developer.
The various rollers of the referenced patents as described above contact a surface of the film as it travels along its normal film path. These patents also disclose various squeegee rollers along the path of movement of the film for driving the film along its path and for separating adjacent processing solutions from one another by squeezing the solutions from the surfaces of the film as it moves through the squeegee rollers.
When a sheet of film passes through squeegee rollers, a bead of liquid may cling to the trailing edge of the film after it leaves the rollers. If the squeegee rollers are at the exit of the final wash station in the processor, a bead of water on the tail end of the film entering the drying station can be deposited onto the beginning roller in the dryer rack of the dryer station. This bead of water will travel with the surface of the roller and be deposited onto the surface of the next sheet of film entering the dryer rack. As this bead of water is dried in the drying station water spots are formed on the sheet of film which are viewable by the customer. Such spots are undesirable, not only because of their appearance but because they may obscure the image on the developed sheet of film.